ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 29, 1996 TAG: 9611290051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HILO, HAWAII
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
THE HOKIES ARE READY to work in tonight's men's basketball opener against Hawaii-Hilo.
After three days of playing the role of tourist, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team officially punches the time clock tonight.
So get rid of those leis and forget the luaus. The Hokies realize it's time to go to work.
``I think we're ready to stop that stuff for a while and get ready to play some basketball,'' said Bill Foster, Tech's coach.
The Hokies open their 1996-97 season in the eight-team Big Island Invitational against host school Hawaii-Hilo (0-1) at 7:45 p.m. Hawaiian time.
That's 12:45 a.m. Saturday in Blacksburg, Va. Or as Foster said, ``way too late for me to be up.''
Foster hopes his Hokies are up after three days of rest and relaxation in Kona, located on the opposite site of Hawaii's Big Island from Hilo.
Tech, which took a series of flights from Washington, D.C., to Hawaii on Sunday, didn't spend all of its time in Kona sight-seeing. The Hokies held two-hour practices all three days, before making the short cross-island flight to Hilo on Thursday.
Foster and his team got their first look at the tournament site - the 3,000-seat Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium - Thursday afternoon.
``As long as they have two baskets, we'll be OK,'' said Foster, before getting a peek at where he'll spend much of the next three days.
The Tech-Hilo contest is the finale of today's four-game, first-round menu.
Illinois faces Texas Christian in the 5 p.m. (EST) opener, with Auburn meeting Colorado at 7:15. Louisville, Tech's old Metro Conference rival, faces Montana State at 10:30.
``I think it's a pretty good field,'' Foster said. ``There are some big names, some NCAA-caliber clubs.''
The Hokies won't face one in their opener, though.
Hawaii-Hilo, needless to say, enters the tournament in a state of disarray.
Point guard Rodney Odrick, described recently by coach Jim Forkum as ``the prototype guard'' for the Vulcans' ``run-shoot-score'' offense, walked out of the team's locker room at halftime of Saturday's 107-94 upset loss to Puget Sound.
Odrick reportedly had a disagreement with a teammate shortly after the first half, changed from his uniform to street clothes and watched the second half from the stands.
That controversy came on the heels of Forkum benching four starters for the start of the Puget Sound game for missing a mandatory study hall during the week.
``It's unfortunate that all this happened going into our tournament,'' Bill Trumbo, Hawaii-Hilo's athletic director, told a Honolulu newspaper.
Forkum was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Even before the Vulcans' recent turmoil, Tech didn't figure to have much trouble with the hosts. Hawaii-Hilo has no staters back from a team that went 8-19 last season.
Foster, however, knows better than to mark this one in the won column before tip-off.
``Remember Chaminade-Virginia, don't you?'' he said, referring to the Silverswords' monumental 1984 upset of top-ranked UVa in Hawaii.
Foster must be a little concerned about possible home cooking from the third team on the floor tonight - the officials.
``We've been practicing eight-on-five,'' Foster said.
If Tech wins as expected, it will face the Auburn-Colorado survivor in the second round at 12:45 a.m. Sunday.
The championship game will be played at 9:15 p.m. Sunday.
``The vacation's over now,'' said Foster, who enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with his team and staff at a tournament banquet Thursday night. ``Now it's time to roll up the sleeves, go to work and get after it.''
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB